Chairman joins Vista celebrations

Vista Court almshouses celebrate 25th anniversary

Sunshine and a strawberry tea helped residents and guests celebrate a special anniversary for an historic housing development in Westbury.

The almshouses at Vista Court were built 25 years ago by the Laverton Housing Trust. The trust, which manages 15 homes in Westbury set up with funds from the sale of almshouses in Prospect Square, built by the mill-owning Laverton family in 1886.

Resident Kathryn had a special reason to enjoy the birthday celebrations at Vista Court – she was the very first person to move into one of the seven bungalows 25 years ago...

…and 87 year old Kathryn even has her own Laverton connection – as a young woman she used to work at one of the town mills.

Trustees and residents were joined in their celebration tea by guests including Westbury mayor Carole King and The Almshouse Association chairman Willie Hartley Russell.

Vista Court, so called as it was built on the site of the old cinema in Warminster Road, was the second housing project by the Trust which also built and manages Laverton Court off All Saints churchyard.

The idea behind the trust is the provision of safe affordable housing for local people in need. When it was first set up, applicants for the almshouses had to have a link to the Laverton mills – an echo of its historic connections.

Find out more about the work of the trust and about the almshouses at www.lavertonhousingtrust.org.uk

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posted 30 July 2026